News

Russian World Cup

In September 2012 the eleven host cities that will organise the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament in Russia were announced. The sixty-four matches will be staged at twelve venues. Among the host cities are: Moscow, being the only city with two stadiums selected, Saint Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Saransk, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don and Yekaterinburg. Two cities − Krasnodar and Yaroslavl − were dropped from the initial list.

Recent weeks have seen visible progress in the preparation of many World Cup construction projects, bringing the planned investments even closer to realisation. In autumn 2012 tenders for design works were announced for stadiums in Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Volgograd and Yekaterinburg. In Kaliningrad the tender was announced for the second time due to increased construction costs. The stadium will rely on a design concept prepared by the Willmotte company. The estimated cost of the design works is RUB 910m ($29.4m). In Volgograd the tender results will be announced by the end of November and the cost of construction will amount to approx. RUB 16bn ($516m). In Samara the stadium’s location is to be changed. According to the first report, the stadium was to be built in the area of the Samara river port, in a stretch of land at the confluence of the Volga River and the Samara River. One of the reasons for the change of stadium location was a presidential.

decree, which states that the riverbanks should be raised by 6 metres, which would have significantly increased construction costs. At the end of October the construction of Zenit Stadium in Saint Petersburg, which was stopped due to a significant increase in construction costs, was restarted. As a result of the huge construction cost Russian government experts are carrying out a cost analysis, the result of which will be known by the end of November. The modernisation of the biggest Russian venue – Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow – will commence in 2013 with rebuilding due to be completed by the end of 2016.

All eleven host cities also have to prepare their road infrastructure. In 2013 the Moscow authorities are planning to allocate RUB 428m ($13.8m) on the construction of new road and metro lines and RUB 100m ($3.2m) on the reconstruction of existing roads. In the next five years Moscow government will spend approx. RUB 1 617bn ($52.2bn) on road construction and modernisation.

Kaliningrad authorities are planning to thoroughly modernise the city’s transportation infrastructure for the needs of the 2018 World Cup. According to the initial plans, there is the possibility to construct a tram line in the city centre. In October 2012 the city announced a tender for the preparation of a transportation development concept.

By 2018 Rostov-on-Don is expected to have two tram lines connecting the new stadiumwith the city centre. The city will also have a four-lane road connection between the airport and Rostov-on-Don. Currently, in Volgograd Province around 70% of regional roads do not meet road safety requirements. The province’s authorities are preparing a road modernisation and reconstruction plan. According to the plan’s estimates, by 2015 this figure will fall to 45%.Seventeen investments, among others the modernisation of the second Podpolnaya trunk, are directly connected with the organisation the 2018 World Cup. Unfortunately, the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Transport have abandoned plans to build a high-speed railway for the 2018 World Cup. The main reason for this decision is a lack of sufficient funds. The funding for constructing this type of railways was not included in the federal spending plans for 2013-2015. The Ministry of Transport is planning to delay plans for the construction of a high-speed railway between Moscow-Saint Petersburg-Minsk-Warsaw- Berlin, Moscow-Kyiv, Moscow-Riga and Saint Petersburg-Tallinn. According to the transport department, high-speed rail lines are not essential to the smooth running of the 2018 World Cup. Building regular lines and modernising existing ones should be sufficient.

However, there is a plan to construct two speed rail lines: Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod-Kazan-Yekaterinburg and Moscow-Kharkov-Rostov-on-Don-Krasnodar-Adler. The estimated cost (in 2010 prices) of construction of the first line is RUB 76.8bn ($2.5bn), the second totalling RUB 210bn ($6.8bn). Thus, the cost of preparing the railway infrastructure for the sporting event will be RUB 286.8bn ($9.3bn), these projects being expected to be financed through the federal budget. Additionally, there was a plan to construct a railway connection between Moscow and Yaroslavl at a cost of RUB 124bn ($4bn). The construction has been brought into question following Yaroslavl’s failure to be a host city. The final version of railways infrastructure development concept for the 2018 World Cup should be prepared soon.

Airports will play a critical role in Russia’s overall transportation system during the 2018 World Cup. Most of the airports in the host cities are inadequate both in terms of airport size and infrastructure (terminal capacity and runway). Only the airports in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Sochi, Yekaterinburg and Rostov-on-Don could handle the passenger capacity expected during the World Cup. Nevertheless, all airports will be completely modernised over the coming years. However, some delay is possible. For example, the start of runway modernisation and reconstruction at Stirgino Airport in Nizhny Novgorod could be delayed. According to the initial plan, although the works are start in 2013, funds were not included in the federal budget for 2013. The Russian Federation government will allocate funds for the airport’s modernisation in 2014. Volgograd Province government also has plans for the modernisation of its airport. The regional authorities expect that a significant part of the necessary funds will be provided by private investors as part of a public-private partnership.During the Sochi-2014 business forum the province’s government presented a plan for the airport’s modernisation. Unfortunately, they did not attract potential investors. One of the most significant airport projects is the construction of Yuzhny international airport near Rostovon- Don with a capacity four times in excess that of the existing airport. The designed works are scheduled for 2013, and the completion of all works is planned for 2016.

Construction of a new Zenit Stadium Saint Petersburg * construction works were restarted at the end of October
Construction of Yubileyny Stadium Saransk * the project will be improved in line with FIFA requirements (installation of temporary stands)
Construction of FIFA World Cup Stadium Kazan * construction works will be completed in spring 2013
Construction of Fisht Stadium Sochi * construction works will be completed in November 2013
Construction of Spartak Stadium Moscow * works in progress Modernisation of Luzniki Stadium Moscow * modernisation works will start in 2013
Modernisation of Tsentralny Stadium Yekaterinburg * launching tender for design works (the result will be announced at the beginning of December 2013)
Construction of FIFA World Cup Stadium Kaliningrad * launching tender for design works (result will be announced in December 10)
Construction of FIFA World CupStadium Samara * launching tender for design works (result will be announced by the end of November)
Construction of FIFA World Cup Stadium Volgograd * launching tender for design works (result will be announced in December 24)
Construction of FIFA World Cup Stadium Nizhny Novgorod * early planning stage
Construction of FIFA World Cup Stadium Rostov-on-Don * design works
Construction of FIFA World Cup Stadium Krasnodar * was not selected as a 2018 World Cup host city
Construction of Shinnik Stadium Yaroslavl * was not selected as a 2018 World Cup host city
Construction of VTB Arena Moscow * was not selected as a 2018 World Cup stadium